Chapter 134: Snow Globe (3) (1/2)

Kim Woojin, ‘place’ Woo [宇] and ‘true’ Jin [眞]. I told the giant my true name, a melody that I hadn’t spoken in a very long time.

—…

The giant smiled, looking down at me without a word. His silence was not threatening but had a warmth to it that contrasted sharply with the cold.

—Human. This is a graveyard, not a prison or a cradle.

The giant first solved the question I hadn’t asked but had been running around in my head.

—The cemetery prepared for me.

I had read the giant setting once before. They were a race that crossed the continent and the Great Sea to see the ends of this vast world. They were wise people who knew nearly everything and possessed a profound insight. Therefore, humans, as seen by giants, were not so different from how ants were seen by humans. Still, it was thanks to the giant’s wise and benevolent heart that he didn’t trample me.

—Human… when I see you, I know that there is a world I don’t know yet.

“…Is that so?”

-Yes.

His voice shook my soul violently.

—This is my fault for not hiding the cemetery properly.

“…”

—The passage leading to the outside is here. You can open it at any time, but you won’t go out alone if you do.

The giant read everything in my mind and gave me the right answer. But I picked out a very awkward word from the giant’s explanation.

“By fault, you mean it’s not a mistake?”

—…

The giant smiled again.

-Yes. I expected this kind of meeting someday. Thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, however long it required, but at least once.

“…It’s amazing.”

The wisdom of giants transcended humanity. If so, did he foresee my existence? Also, did he understand? That from the world called Earth, I was incorporated into the world of this game.

—It is too early to find an answer. The human race collapses the moment it reaches the end. As our giant race collapsed before in a greater time…

He meant for me to find the answer myself. I nodded; this was nothing new. It had always been that way since I became Deculein.

—The height of this cliff is tens of thousands of meters high. It will be difficult for a human to bear because it is the end of the world I have created.

I paid no attention to the giant’s warning, taking out the wood steel and jabbing it into the ice wall.

Crack—!

I made a support stand that I climbed up. I looked back at the giant.

“I will come back with my friends.”

—…

The giant smiled softly and closed his eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gindalf guided Epherene to a small airship.

“Get in.”

“…Here?”

“Yeah. Back seat.”

At Gindalf’s prompting, Epherene hesitated but soon climbed into the back seat.

“I’m kind of nervous…”

As soon as she put the helmet on, the airship set off.

“Wait, whoa!”

The airship rocketed through the orbit of the Floating Island, Epherene’s face shaking with the force of the sudden acceleration.

“Bwaaaah- Baaaaaah-”

“Hahaha. What do you think?”

“Brrrwaaah—”

“Isn’t it exciting?”

“Buaaaaaaah-“

One of the neighboring islands of the Floating Island was the place they flew to, the island known as the Inn.

“Now! We’re here. How was it, wasn’t it fun? Hahahaha.”

“…It’s so lame.”

“Hmm, lame? Really? Anyway, the new generation these days use strange words.”

“It means no fun… gosh.”

Epherene rubbed her chapped lips and shook her head while Gindalf opened the door of the Inn.

Ding-

With the soft sound of a bell, Gindalf went inside. Epherene stood outside for a moment longer to look around.

“…Wow.”

She was in a parking lot holding dozens of small airships. Behind it was not a cliff but a space with no end in sight.

“Come in now. It is dangerous when the wind blows.”

“Yeah!”

At Gindalf’s call, Epherene headed inside. It was surprisingly mediocre and quiet inside compared to the outside, which was extraordinary. There were several tables, and the menu board was full of food with appetizing names.

“Epherene. Here.”

Gindalf, who was already seated at a table, raised his hand. The pink-haired woman next to him winked at her.

“You’re here.”

“…Wizard Rose Rio?”

Epherene’s eyes went wide. Rose Rio flapped the magic thesis she held, picking her teeth with a toothpick.

“Yes, it’s been a long time. Sit down.”

“Yes, yes.”

Epherene sat down next to Gindalf. Then, she looked at the paper that Rose Rio was holding.

“Oh~, this?”

Rosé Rio noticed her gaze and shrugged.

“Isn’t it the Floating Island fad lately? At this rate, we’ll have to put a badge on our chests to see how many pages we have read. If we don’t know, we can’t even join the conversations.”

“…Aha.”

“Yeah, I’m also trying to challenge it~. Um, how can I say this? Should I say that this is useless to me?”

“Haha…”

Epherene smiled bitterly and nodded. After all, it would have been an inappropriate thesis for Rose Rio, who specialized elsewhere.

“Haha. But I heard that this friend has already understood up to page 130?”

Gindalf said it loudly for all to hear. The air in the Inn grew stiff, and everyone looked over. Epherene was embarrassed, but soon the atmosphere relaxed as if nothing had happened. It seemed like she was being dismissed as if the very thought were absurd. But Rose Rio regarded her with narrowed eyes.

“…Is it true?”

“Yes, yes… I got it a while ago. So-“

“Even if you received it beforehand, it is not something you can understand to page 130. From 30 pages onwards, understanding each page is treated as a small achievement.”

Among the addicts, the thesis climbing relay was in full swing, and it was even considered an opportunity for reversing one’s rank. If only it were true that a mere Solda understood up to page 130-

“Haha. For now, let’s shelve that talk for later. Come on, Epherene. This Inn is a little bit special. Take a look around.”

Gindalf stopped talking and pointed somewhere. Epherene’s eyes followed.

“Carla and Jackal are over there.”

“!”

Epherene’s jaw dropped. Carla and Jackal, who she had seen before on Ghost Island, were indeed sitting right there. Jackal was yawning with a twig in his mouth, and Carla was mixing sugar into her latte.

“And Zukaken.”

One of the clan masters, Zukaken. The handsome long-haired man was chatting with another male wizard. For some reason, his whole party was formed of handsome men.

“And there’s… haha. I didn’t think he would be allowed in even though it’s the Inn.”

“Who?”

Epherene looked to the next one he pointed out. Rose Rio chuckled, sipping her coffee.

“He’s called Gerek. He’s a person of some interest.”

The very handsome man she pointed at was giggling and acting erratically with an unknown old woman standing beside him.

“And behind them is Ihelm.”

Rose Rio pointed her thumb to the corner of the Inn. Epherene’s head whirled around.

—…So we need to analyze this part. I don’t care about the Floating Island guys, but we can’t fall behind those from the magic tower.

Ihelm, his hair tied back, was studying the thesis with his students in the shadows. He probably didn’t want it to be found out that he was studying Deculein’s thesis independently.

— Gather them all and leave the labor of various calculations to them.

-Yes. I will contact them right away.

Gindalf began to stroke his long beard.

“Haha. What do you think? It’s rather curious, isn’t it? Anyone who is a wizard can enter the Inn on the Floating Island. Even the wizards of the Volcano who do not have the official approval of a Magic Tower.”

Volcano, the official name of the Ashes. Epherene grew increasingly nervous.

“Especially Glipper and Helgun. Get used to those two faces. They are some crazy guys.”